Indigenous-led houseless shelters growing in Edmonton

The Edmonton skyline. Photo by Ryan Hunt.

Shelter spaces in Edmonton for houseless people have grown since the City of Edmonton declared a housing and houselessness emergency on Jan.15th. Existing shelters expanded their spaces and new ones popped up, like the province’s navigation center that opened two days after the emergency was declared.

According to David Jones, the branch manager for Community Standards and Neighborhoods with the City of Edmonton, Indigenous people make up 6% of Edmonton’s population. While the number is small, they represent 56% of Edmonton’s current houseless population and most of the available shelter spaces are not Indigenous led.

Jones said it is important to keep shelter spaces culture-centric. He reported at a city council meeting on Feb. 12th that the NiGiNan Housing Ventures Stabilization Space and Enoch Cree Nation’s project at the Coliseum Inn is expanding to meet the needs of houseless Edmontonians.

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